Buy More? Or Just Be Thankful?

I came across this marvelous paragraph from this article and it just feels right on for me right now. I am feeling the MAJOR urge to buy, even though I don't need anything. The commercials. The "Christmas Spirit". The "fun" of shopping. (Why all the quotation marks Treana? Well, because that's not what Christmas and the holidays are REALLY about. Christian or not, the holidays are about family, being thankful for what you have, creating something new and refocusing on the year ahead while being grateful for what happened in the last year.) So read this:

That’s our entire economic system: buy things. Everybody buy. It doesn’t matter what you buy. Just buy. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have money. Just buy. Our entire civilization now rests on the assumption that, no matter what else happens, we will all continue to buy lots and lots of things. Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy. And then buy a little more. Don’t create, or produce, or discover — just buy. Never save, never invest, never cut back — just buy. Buy what you don’t need with money you don’t have. Buy when you’re happy. Buy when you’re sad. Buy when you’re hungry. Buy when you want to lose weight. Buy an iPhone. Six months have passed, here, buy another iPhone. Go online and buy things. Go to the mall and buy things. On your way, stop and buy some more things. Buy things for every occasion. Buy things to celebrate. Buy things to mourn. Buy things to keep up with the trends. Buy things while you’re buying things, and then buy a couple more things after you’re done buying things. If you want it — buy it. If you don’t want it — buy it. Don’t make it — buy it. Don’t grow it — buy it. Don’t cultivate it — buy it. We need you to buy. We don’t need you to be a human, we don’t need you to be a citizen, we don’t need you to be a capitalist, we just need you to be a consumer, a buyer. If you are alive you must buy. Buy like you breathe, only more frequently.

Because that's it isn't it. This incessant need to consume has taken away who we are as humans. I know that sounds pretty drastic, but even losing part of your humanity should be incredibly sad. I admit it... purchasing things has been my THING forever. My friends in high school used to come over and "shop" in my closet. I was babysitting full time and spent literally everything on clothes. I understand that because I grew up with very little and never was dressed well (think super fluffy homemade dresses) this came from a deeper place for me. But the sentiment was the same: fill the hole in myself with stuff.